Chargers draft watch: Marcus Roberson

FILE - In this Oct. 19, 2013, file photo, Missouri wide receiver Dorial Green-Beckham runs as Florida Gators defensive back Marcus Roberson defends during the fourth quarter of an NCAA college football game in Columbia, Mo. Green-Beckham has been suspended indefinitely for an unspecified violation of team rules, three months after he and two friends were arrested on suspicion of felony drug distribution. Coach Gary Pinkel announced the suspension Monday, April 7, 2014, in a brief news release. (AP Photo/L.G. Patterson, File)
The Associated Press

FILE - In this Oct. 19, 2013, file photo, Missouri wide receiver Dorial Green-Beckham runs as Florida Gators defensive back Marcus Roberson defends during the fourth quarter of an NCAA college football game in Columbia, Mo. Green-Beckham has been suspended indefinitely for an unspecified violation of team rules, three months after he and two friends were arrested on suspicion of felony drug distribution. Coach Gary Pinkel announced the suspension Monday, April 7, 2014, in a brief news release. (AP Photo/L.G. Patterson, File)

Bobby Beathard would've thought Marcus Roberson, a cornerback from Florida, too soft to take high in the draft. The former Chargers GM frowned on corners who were reluctant tacklers. In 1983, Beathard drafted Darrell Green for the Redskins and although Green was only 5-foot-9, the first-round draftee amassed 108 tackles as a rookie. Fierce in run support along with being a shutdown pass defender, Green played 20 NFL seasons and won induction into the Hall of Fame. He was the standard by which Beathard measured many cornerbacks.

The NFL game is different from when Beathard was building the only Super Bowl team in Chargers history, in 1990-1994.

Defending the pass was crucial, but it's now more important and more difficult. Contact with a receiver beyond five yards downfield is more apt to be flagged today, even as pass-catchers are trending larger. Tackling still matters, sure, but if a cornerback can hold up in one-on-one coverage and make plays on the ball, he'll survive in the NFL even as a marginal tackler.

Roberson, 6-foot and 191 pounds, profiles as such a prospect in my study of five games from his three-year career at Florida.

He doesn't relish encounters with ballcarriers. Often, he drops to the ground and grasps at them.

It is as a pass defender that Roberson shows NFL potential, despite his erratic final season at Florida. He is fluid in off coverage. In press, he showed some promise mirroring No. 1 receivers or jamming them in the red zone. Because he started three years in the SEC -- NFL Lite -- and within a scheme that put him on an island, there's less guesswork in projecting him than with many other corners.

He took his lumps in combating No. 1 several receivers. But he showed a knack for turning and spotting the ball without losing speed or leverage. Against large, NFL-caliber receivers, he made a handful of special plays.

In the end zone against Texas A&M, for instance, Roberson turned and found the ball, allowing him break up Johnny Manziel's lob to Mike Evans.

Evans is a 6-5, 231-pounder projected to go in the first round in May.

Also in his sophomore season, Roberson broke up a curl to Tennessee's Justin Hunter, in addition to winning against him on a go route and a double-move. The Titans drafted Hunter, who is 6-4 and fast, at No. 34 last April, and he beat the Chargers in Game 3 by plucking a last-minute pass over reserve corner Crezdon Butler (6-foot, 183).

Roberson won in press coverage last season against Missouri's leading receiver, Dorial Green-Beckham, a 6-6, 225-pounder who figures to get an NFL offer, someday, despite being cut from the team last week.

Those were Roberson's highlights against the elites. Evans outmaneueverd him other times and mauled him in the run game. Hunter, who outplayed him overall, beat him for three catches and drew a penalty. Green-Beckham walled him off for two catches. Vanderbilt's Jordan Matthews had success against him too.

The Chargers and other NFL teams will want to know why Florida suspended Roberson for a game last season. NFL doctors will vet the non-surgical knee injury that sidelined him for three games in 2013 and the neck injury that ended his freshman season.

Bottom line: Roberson's upside argues for consideration at No. 57 and No. 89, while his inconsistency makes him a longshot at No. 25. He can provide backup as a punt returner.